When Dolly Parton died Tuesday, her family asked for something other than flowers in her memory. Instead, they requested donations to Parton's Imagination Library. Though Parton was known around the world as an icon of music and movies, her beloved literacy program cemented her legacy as a humanitarian.
How Imagination Library startedParton founded Imagination Library in 1995 to encourage a love for reading and learning among the children of Sevier County, Tennessee, where she was raised. She famously dedicated Imagination Library to her father, who grew up in rural poverty and never attended school.
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"Daddy was a really smart man ... but he was ashamed that he couldn't read and write," Parton told Oprah in 2020, "That always bothered me that he felt like he couldn't learn after he was grown. I remember thinking, 'I need to do something about that. I can. I'm in a position now where I can do something.'"What Imagination Library doesParton asked her father to help with the initiative, which delivers free, age-appropriate books to children every month from birth to age 5. By the time a child finishes the program, they've received 60 books, according to Imagination Library. The Dollywood Foundation covers some costs and negotiates book pricing. Its local partners help pay for mailing costs and the books themselves. Families that participate in Imagination Library pay nothing.
